The man federal agents fatally shot in Minneapolis Saturday did not appear to be a target of immigration enforcement, according to two eyewitnesses who spoke with The Intercept. One of the witnesses said the man appeared to be acting as a civilian observer.
According to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, the victim was a 37-year-old resident of Minneapolis and is believed to be a U.S. citizen.
The shooting came just weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed Renee Good and a day after hundreds of thousands of people braved subzero temperatures to march in Minneapolis against weeks of rolling immigration-enforcement raids by ICE, Border Patrol, and other federal agencies.
A video of the incident, which surfaced on Reddit just before 10 a.m. Central Time, shows a number of apparent federal agents in tactical gear wrestling with a person on the ground and striking them multiple times before a shot rings out. As many of the agents scatter from the person, at least nine more shots ring out and the person slumps to the ground.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the shooting and claimed that the man was carrying a handgun, attaching a photo of a Sig Sauer weapon. The Intercept has not been able to independently verify the Department’s claims
Minnesota allows open carrying of firearms by people with valid permits. In a press conference on Saturday, O’Hara said the victim’s only known law enforcement interactions were over traffic tickets, “and we believe he is a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”
One eyewitness told The Intercept he headed to the area just before 9 a.m. Central Time to observe after hearing reports of federal agents staging in a parking lot next to Glam Doll Donuts near the intersection of Nicolett Avenue and East 26th Street. When he got there, the witness saw a handful of other responders and about 15 federal agents in tactical gear, but no apparent immigration-enforcement targets.
“The people who were there were the people doing rapid response,” said the witness, who spoke with The Intercept on condition of anonymity.
The witness said there was some verbal back and forth between observers and federal agents, but said he saw nothing that hinted at a violent confrontation. About three minutes after arriving on the scene, he was standing across the street from the sidewalk next to the donut shop when he heard a series of gunshots in rapid succession and ducked into a doorway for safety alongside another observer.
“I don’t want to die,” the witness said.
In the immediate wake of the shooting, the witness tried to call 911, but the calls would not go through. A journalist for Bring Me The News who was on the scene reported witnessing federal agents giving the person chest compressions and calling for help.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz confirmed the shooting Saturday morning and called for federal agents to leave the state.
“I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” Walz wrote on X. “The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”
At the press conference with O’Hara, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he had watched “a video of more than six masked federal agents pummeling one of our constituents, shooting him to death.”
“How many more lives have to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values?” Frey asked.
O’Hara called for calm and appealed to the federal government to act with professionalism.
“Our demand today is for those federal agencies that are operating in our city to do so with the same discipline, humanity, and integrity that effective law enforcement in this country demands,” O’Hara said.
This developing story has been updated.
#Man #Feds #Killed #Minneapolis #Observer #Eyewitness